Well, if this is to be believed, it looks quite likely we're not going to get a rehash of the whole asexuality subject >_>

Announcement from HOUSE Executive Producers David Shore, Katie Jacobs and Hugh Laurie, as well as a statement from Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company.

After much deliberation, the producers of House M.D. have decided that this season of the show, the 8th, should be the last. By April this year they will have completed 177 episodes, which is about 175 more than anyone expected back in 2004.

The decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one, as it risks putting asunder hundreds of close friendships that have developed over the last eight years - but also because the show itself has been a source of great pride to everyone involved.

Since it began, House has aspired to offer a coherent and satisfying world in which everlasting human questions of ethics and emotion, logic and truth, could be examined, played out, and occasionally answered. This sounds like fancy talk, but it really isn’t. House has, in its time, intrigued audiences around the world in vast numbers, and has shown that there is a strong appetite for television drama that relies on more than prettiness or gun play.

But now that time is drawing to a close. The producers have always imagined House as an enigmatic creature; he should never be the last one to leave the party. How much better to disappear before the music stops, while there is still some promise and mystique in the air.

The producers can never sufficiently express their gratitude to the hundreds of dedicated artists and technicians who have given so generously of their energy and talent to make House the show it has been - and perhaps will continue to be for some time, on one cable network or another.

The makers of House would also like to thank Fox Broadcasting and Universal Television for supporting the show with patience, imagination and large quantities of good taste. The Studio-As-Evil-Adversary is one of the many clichés that House has managed to avoid, and for that the cast and crew are deeply grateful.

Lastly, the audience: some have come and some have gone, obviously. This is to be expected in the life of any show. But over the course of the last eight years, the producers of House have felt immensely honored to be the subject of such close attention by an intelligent, discriminating, humane and thoughtful - not to mention numerous - audience. Even the show's detractors have been flattering in their way. Making the show has felt like a lively and passionate discussion about as many different subjects as could possibly be raised in 177 hours. The devotion and generosity of our viewers has been marvelous to behold.

So, finally, everyone at House will bid farewell to the audience and to each other with more than a few tears, but also with a deep feeling of gratitude for the grand adventure they have been privileged to enjoy for the last eight years. If the show lives on somewhere, with somebody, as a fond memory, then that is a precious feat, of which we will always be proud.

While it’s with much regret, and a lump in our throats, we respect the decision Hugh, David and Katie have made. A true original, on the page and amazingly brought to life by Hugh Laurie, there is only one Dr. House. For eight seasons, the entire HOUSE team has given us – and fans around the world – some of the most compelling characters and affecting stories ever seen on television. They have been creatively tenacious and collaborative throughout this incredible run, and they are amongst the most superior talents in the business. For all the above, we wholeheartedly thank them, and the fans who have supported the show.

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I don't have much to add that hasn't already been discussed regarding the issues with this House episode, but I wanted to share this:

Mhm… Okay, you know what they say about correlation and causation, but I happened to be checking Wikipedia’s page traffic statistics for ‘Asexuality’ for completely arbitrary and unrelated reasons, and I noticed this. That is quite the spike. (You can check page view stats for Wikipedia pages from their ‘View History’ tab, kind of a nice tool).

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I don't have much to add that hasn't already been discussed regarding the issues with this House episode, but I wanted to share this:

Mhm… Okay, you know what they say about correlation and causation, but I happened to be checking Wikipedia’s page traffic statistics for ‘Asexuality’ for completely arbitrary and unrelated reasons, and I noticed this. That is quite the spike. (You can check page view stats for Wikipedia pages from their ‘View History’ tab, kind of a nice tool).

I don't have much to add that hasn't already been discussed regarding the issues with this House episode, but I wanted to share this:

Mhm… Okay, you know what they say about correlation and causation, but I happened to be checking Wikipedia’s page traffic statistics for ‘Asexuality’ for completely arbitrary and unrelated reasons, and I noticed this. That is quite the spike. (You can check page view stats for Wikipedia pages from their ‘View History’ tab, kind of a nice tool).

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I don't have much to add that hasn't already been discussed regarding the issues with this House episode, but I wanted to share this:

Mhm… Okay, you know what they say about correlation and causation, but I happened to be checking Wikipedia’s page traffic statistics for ‘Asexuality’ for completely arbitrary and unrelated reasons, and I noticed this. That is quite the spike. (You can check page view stats for Wikipedia pages from their ‘View History’ tab, kind of a nice tool).

I have to say it was partly the House episode that made me look up Asexuality (that and I'd briefly heard of it on BBC news...). Although they did go about the whole episode in a douchey way and portrayed Asexuality ALL wrong in the eyes of the blissfully unaware, I have a feeling it may have also helped a number of House-watching asexuals discover more about themselves like I did...

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So we're all either lying/in denial, have a medical problem, or mentally twisted.

If the writers really wanted to mess up their relationship, they could have left the woman asexual.

To those who didn't tune in:

a lady with a bladder infection attracts the attention of House, who tries to prove that she and her husband aren't really asexual. Watson stops him, so House investigates the husband, who turns out to have a tumor causing his lack of libido. Treating it, which is necessary for him to live, but make him sexual. The wife ends up revealing that she lied about her asexuality because she likes sex(Because all asexuals are repulsed ).

Shouldnt be suprised folks society thinks if you have no sexual attraction to people your ill or whatever

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I just got to this episode! Figured there'd be some rage about it, and lo.

That feminist calling Joss Whedon a rapist for his portrayal of women in Firefly was bad enough, but the backlash against this ep was ridiculous. Feeling the need to leap to it's defense!

Wilson is ignorant of something rare. Shocking. That initial clinic scene would've been a whole lot less awkward if the patient had said "actually I'm asexual" rather than dragging it out and making Wilson guess every other possibility first.

House dismisses it as a real thing because he's House. He thinks the worst about everyone, so he assumes there's something wrong with an attractive woman that doesn't want sex. He believes in facts and science, asexuality is such a new definition when compared to homosexuality or bisexuality, it's nowhere near as solid a concept yet. And there are so, so many medical conditions that can reduce a person's sex drive that the situation is an ideal one for House to investigate. Similar situation happened last year with an attractive woman married to an unattractive man, House thought something was wrong with her. Turned out she was literally a psychopath. :P

At no point does the show say asexuality is not a real thing. House says that, and the situation vindicated his belief. Eh. Wilson pretty obviously does accept it's a real thing, just not one he'd ever heard of before.

The male pt being sick, not actually asexual, was the logical conclusion of the story. I might have preferred his wife turned out to actually be asexual, just to drive home the point of it being a valid orientation, but then that would have been an even more depressing end to their story, wouldn't it?

Anyway, tl;dr - the show didn't attack or belittle asexuality in any way, just said a patient in a show about patients with weird symptoms had a weird symptom that mimicked asexuality.

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DRX, how many people do you believe will actually analyze that episode in such a context? I think the concern lies with how many will take the implication that asexuality is an illness as a matter of fact, rather than carefully analyze House's character or the scientific basis for what he claims.

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DRX, how many people do you believe will actually analyze that episode in such a context? I think the concern lies with how many will take the implication that asexuality is an illness as a matter of fact, rather than carefully analyze House's character or the scientific basis for what he claims.

*raises hand* I expected that ending and DID analyze the episode in a similar context. I also saw the potential for a massive freaking problem because of the layman's interpretation of the episode. Guess what? I was right. Frankly, I'm still pissed about it. I've gotten more concerned messages about my health as a direct result of that episode than any other incident. Fact is, people, for whatever stupid reason, take that show seriously and the things that happen in it seriously. I have had people try to blackmail and coerce me into see a doctor, others who have taken that episode as justification for asexuality not being a "real" thing. The backlash, for me at least, has been a nightmare and I'm 100% the people who raised hell over it.

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I might have preferred his wife turned out to actually be asexual, just to drive home the point of it being a valid orientation, but then that would have been an even more depressing end to their story, wouldn't it?

This part was my biggest problem with the episode. They COULD'VE chosen to drive home the point of it being a valid orientation, but they didn't.

Anyway, tl;dr - the show didn't attack or belittle asexuality in any way, just said a patient in a show about patients with weird symptoms had a weird symptom that mimicked asexuality.

I really don't think that most of the audience thought that it was just weird symptoms mimicking asexuality, because most people don't know about asexuality. However, they have heard of brain tumours (and of people pretending to be what they're not). So, because they have heard of brain tumours and not of asexuality, which one do you think they're more likely to believe is actually true??

They might've not intended to attack or belittle asexuality, but let me tell you... their actions have had quite a profound effect, depending on the audience member.

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Wilson is ignorant of something rare. Shocking. That initial clinic scene would've been a whole lot less awkward if the patient had said "actually I'm asexual" rather than dragging it out and making Wilson guess every other possibility first.

That wasn't the problem. That was understandable & realistic.

House dismisses it as a real thing because he's House. He thinks the worst about everyone, so he assumes there's something wrong with an attractive woman that doesn't want sex. He believes in facts and science, asexuality is such a new definition when compared to homosexuality or bisexuality, it's nowhere near as solid a concept yet. And there are so, so many medical conditions that can reduce a person's sex drive that the situation is an ideal one for House to investigate. Similar situation happened last year with an attractive woman married to an unattractive man, House thought something was wrong with her. Turned out she was literally a psychopath. :P

Again, not the problem. I think we were all expecting that from House. It's his character to be an asshole.

At no point does the show say asexuality is not a real thing. House says that, and the situation vindicated his belief. Eh. Wilson pretty obviously does accept it's a real thing, just not one he'd ever heard of before.

No but it was very heavily implied when it turned out the only 2 characters on the show portrayed as asexual turned out to A) be sick B) lying the whole time. Kind of hard to seriously consider the existence of something when the only people representing it turn out to be, well, fakes. Also, don't you remember how it ended? With what was said between Wilson & House? You may want to check out again.

The male pt being sick, not actually asexual, was the logical conclusion of the story. I might have preferred his wife turned out to actually be asexual, just to drive home the point of it being a valid orientation, but then that would have been an even more depressing end to their story, wouldn't it?

Is it really that depressing? Also, honestly, who gives a shit? I'm sure there's been much more depressing things going on on that show. I rather have a slightly depressing episode than face some kind of "Asexual? No you're not. You must be sick, dead or lying. My tv said so" bullshit.